Raspberry Filled Cupcakes with White Chocolate Buttercream

Happy Valentine’s Day! Valentine’s Day is often thought of as the day we celebrate our sweetheart. Flowers, chocolate, cards and cupcakes are all appropriate. Yeah, see how I worked that Cupcake in? Slick, huh? In my defense, this is a Raspberry Filled Cupcake topped with Carlee’s White Chocolate Buttercream. It’s not to be missed.

I thought these cupcakes would be the perfect for Valentine’s day. St. Valentine is the patron saint of love, young people and happy marriages, and I think you’ll agree that these cupcakes are a happy marriage of the delicious filled cupcake and white chocolate buttercream. You might say they’re a match made in heaven!

Poor St. Valentine, though, had a tough time of it – while it’s certain he existed, there may have been more than one Valentine. And so the Church doesn’t recognize Valentine’s day as an official holiday, but what is lost is in all the happy sentiment is the deeper meaning behind Valentine’s day.

Valentine felt strongly about his freedom & his religion; he defied the law of the time and secretly conducted weddings. He stood up for what he believed and it cost him his life. Today, many are afraid of speaking up in these uncertain times. While we might not be in danger of losing our lives, there are accusations of being whiners and of spreading “hatred” and worse. I’ve especially been afraid to speak up on Facebook & my blog. Honestly, I enjoy all of you who come here and have been hesitant of offending. And I wonder who wants a cupcake with a side of lecture…probably no one!

But disagreement, discussion and discord is not “hatred.” Like St. Valentine, we can look for love where we can, celebrate love as we find it, but never waver on the deeper issues, as uncomfortable as it might be for us. Most of us have a moral compass that alerts us to what’s right and what’s wrong, no matter what our political beliefs – let’s not be afraid to use it.

In the meantime, have a cupcake. They’re wonderful. I wish I could have given one to that poor boy who was separated from everyone he knew and held in handcuffs in the airport last week. I wish I could give one to Abi and her two young children held at Dulles for 20 hours without food. “They cried a lot,” their cousin said. And I cried with them. They’re from Wilmar, Minnesota, a town of about 20,000 smack dab in the Midwest.

But back to the cupcakes. They’re marvelous & I hope you enjoy them as much as we did. I know many, probably most of you, know you’re sharing your love as you cook and bake for your family. Let’s always stop and give a thought to those outside of our own circle who need your love and caring, too. Even if it’s difficult. Even if it’s uncomfortable. Even if all you can do is take a minute and speak out for what’s right & wrong.

Using a handheld or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat the butter on high-speed until smooth and creamy – about 1 minute. Add the sugar and beat on high-speed for 2 minutes until creamed together. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl with a rubber spatula as needed.

Add the egg whites, vanilla extract, and vanilla bean. Beat on medium-high speed until combined, then beat in the sour cream. Scrape down the sides and up the bottom of the bowl as needed.

With the mixer on low-speed, add the dry ingredients until just incorporated. With the mixer still running on low, slowly pour in the milk until combined. Do not overmix. You may need to whisk it all by hand to make sure there are no lumps at the bottom of the bowl. The batter will be slightly thick.

Pour/spoon the batter into the liners – fill only 2/3 full to avoid spilling over the sides. Bake for 18 to 19 minutes, rotating pans once, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Allow the cupcakes to cool completely before frosting.

To fill cupcakes:

To fill, remove a small portion from the center of the cupcakes, saving the pieces. Fill with about 1/2 to 1 teaspoon jam, leaving a slight space at the top. Replace with a portion of the removed piece.

White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting from Cooking with Carlee. I did not use the full amount of cream called for in Carlee’s Buttercream so it would be thick enough to stand up to piping. I just dribbled a little in until the frosting smoothed out just a bit. Make sure to pipe at a lower room temperature.

Note: To substitute regular flour for the cake flour, when measuring, place 3 tablespoons cornstarch in the bottom of your 1 cup measuring cup. Spoon in flour and level off. Proceed with the 3/4 cup of flour as normal.

Remove a portion of the cupcake from the center. I used this small citrus reamer, but there are specialized tools, or use a small spoon or melon baller. You’ll put a little piece of the removed portion over the jam.

Thanks Anonia! I had a wonderful but low key one. My folk’s got me a lens & are going to let me use my Dad’s camera, so I’m very excited!! I just have a cheap point & shoot so it will be fun to use a “big girl” camera!!

Hey there! Such pretty cupcakes! 🙂 🙂 I am so sure to try these out in my kitchen. As a token of appreciation, I’m sharing this recipe link as the Recipe of the Day on our Facebook group ‘Recipe Repertoire’ (a group uniting food bloggers and food lovers). Congrats and do join and have a look at https://www.facebook.com/groups/703073099864104/
Happy Valentine’s Day!

Hoooooray! Now I need to make another batch of that frosting. It really is soooo good and I haven’t made it in a bit! I don’t think I knew the story of St. Valentine. What a great message. I have been hesitant to delve into politics on the blog as well. A quick scroll through my Facebook feed is enough to turn my stomach most days. I know it is important and am glad to see people engaged (I guess?!) but it would be nice if we could all remember our manners along the way 😉

Absolutely! It seems like there can be no honest discussion with all the attacking and name calling. It’s enough to just want to make someone eat a cupcake or two and go to bed, lol! I hope somewhere along the line we can all agree that some things just aren’t right, and nothing can make them acceptable.

That frosting is SOOOO good, Carlee! I am not normally a huge fan of the “American” or powdered sugar buttercream but the white chocolate gives it such depth and richness. Everyone who ate one asked about the frosting!

Wonderful message in this post Mollie! We celebrated the day by ordering some new red nonstick pots and pans to match our kitchen decor. The old ones go to daughter heading off to college in the fall. Happy Valentines Day!

These look amazing! I, too, have been so afraid in the last several months about posting anything “too conflicting/controversial” on my blog. My goal this year is to write more bravely. Write on! (And bake on… love your recipes.) 🙂

Thanks much!! The only thing I would have changed up was to put more jam in them. I was a little conservative because I worried they would be too messy. Well, with all that buttercream, they were too messy, anyway! But a happy messy!! 🙂

Carrie, if I were in the cities, I’d run the rest of them over to you, lol!! They are such a temptation and I’m trying very hard to stay on track with my healthy eating plan!! I did have half of one and a swipe or two of that buttercream!! The buttercream STEALS the show!!